Hello, you have reached the office of (DEPARTMENT NAME). I am not in my office to take your call. At the tone leave your name, telephone number and details of what I can do for you I will call you back in the next (TIME) or so. Thank you. (17 seconds)

Hi, this is (NAME) I’m sorry I cannot answer your call right now. Please leave a detailed, confidential message at the tone. I’ll call you as soon as I return. Thank you. (15 seconds)

Hello, you have reached the (DEPARTMENT) at Southern Illinois University. I’m sorry I cannot answer your call at the present time please leave a message at the tone. I will pass your message onto the appropriate person or call you back. Thank you for calling. Bye. (17 seconds)

Hello, this is (NAME) of  (DEPARTMENT) at Southern Illinois University. I’m sorry I can’t speak with you at the moment but if you’d like to leave your name, telephone number and details of how I can help you I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for calling. (14 seconds).

• Did you know that we . . .
• You can also contact us on . . .
• If you prefer to fax your inquiry to us, you can do so on . . .
• Thank you for calling. One of our reps will be with you shortly.
• Thank you for waiting, we appreciate your patience. One of our reps will (be with) (attend to) you shortly

Hello. This is (NAME) of the (DEPARTMENT) of Southern Illinois University. For the week of (DATE)  I will be at (WHERE) and not available to answer your call until (DATE or DAY). If you require assistance before then please contact NAME OF CONTACT) at (TELEPHONE NUMBER). If you need to reach someone immediately please dial “03”. Thank you. (19 seconds)

• Update your personal greeting regularly.
• In your greeting, let callers know when you will return their call.
• Include information in your greeting about how callers can reach a colleague who can help them if you are not available.
• If you will be away from the office for an extended period, on business or leave, let callers know and tell them how to reach a colleague who is taking your calls.
• Tell your callers how they can easily reach someone in real time if their call is urgent. BUT, make sure an operator or receptionist is available to answer the line during normal business hours.
• Pause for 1 - 2 seconds before you record your greetings so that if your mailbox receives a STD call the beginning of your greeting, particularly your name, is not drowned out by the STD pips.

• Try keeping your recording to a maximum of about 15 seconds.
• Do not say “operators are busy” - instead tell callers operators are aware of their call but are attending to others, etc.
• Do not say “you have been placed in a queue” - instead ask callers to hold.
• Wait at least 1-2 seconds before commencing recording your greeting. This gives time for the call to be answered and for the caller to be receptive. Also, it allows the STD pips to be heard and not recorded over.
• Take your time while recording, and sound sincere.